Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is a glamorous fashion photographer who specializes in stylized violence (based upon the work of Helmut Newton, who provided some of the photos used for the film while others were shot by Rebecca Blake). In the middle of controversy over whether her photographs glorify violence and are demeaning to women, Laura begins seeing, in first person through the eyes of the killer, real-time visions of the murders of her friends and colleagues.